Genuine allies know that when people claim their differences within the social hierarchy of “white male heterosexual able-bodied” power, such as an Indigenous person or a person of colour, within the context of challenging the oppressive power structure, that this should not be perceived and argued as being divisive and thus disruptive to the larger goal and needed solidarity. Genuine allies know we are only humans within relationships of good social mirroring and affirmation of who we are and how we feel. This includes recognizing our differences with the context of a common goal rather than erasing them. When someone sitting closer to the top of the social hierarchy argues or suggests we need to forget about our differences in our collective process of challenging oppressive power, this serves to deny and disenfranchise people of difference and is yet another form of oppression. Further, this position of erasure and denial interferes with potential allies coming together as one entity, and it is therefore counter-productive to the needed and desired goal of solidarity. Think about it this idea that people can only unite based on sameness is just not so. Genuine allies know that they need to value differences rather than suggest there is the need to erase them. That said of course there are white heterosexual able-bodied men oppressed by the current social hierarchy of society. I am sorry if you feel disenfranchised by that construct of “white male heterosexual able-bodied.” Keep in mind that no construct a human creates has universal application.Second: They Respect the Exhausting Energy of Structural Oppression I have found that some people who live closer to the top of the social hierarchy and who thus embody and live with more privilege, are unable to critically think about and thus really appreciate the incredible amount of intra-psychic energy required for a less privileged person to navigate the structural and institutional oppression inherent in our society. For example, an Indigenous person or person of colour is forced to dedicate a large quantity of their consciousness navigating structures and institutions built primarily by white people with white people in mind. This is similar to women’s situation, in particular Indigenous women and women of colour – again they are forced to dedicate an additional large quantity of their consciousness to navigating the oppressive structures and institutions built primarily by white men for white men. Further, persons with disabilities are forced to dedicate yet even more intra-psychic energy to the process of navigating structures and institutions built primarily by able-bodied white men for able-bodied white men. Of course the same can be said for all people who exist outside the heterosexual normative as well as transgendered people. I have observed that more often than not what more privileged people do in their need and desire for allies of a particular cause is request, demand, and plea to be taught the knowledge of structural and institutional oppression from the very people who are more oppressed and who thus embody the knowledge of oppression. These more privileged people realize that it is the more oppressed people who hold much of the knowledge that will free them from the master narrative that is imposing on them. These more privileged people demand this knowledge when they want it and on their terms, rather than value and respect the incredible amount of stress the more oppressed person embodies. Living with privilege is when your consciousness and intra-physic energy is dedicated to you and your needs, and this includes your demands on people who are less privileged to teach you what you need to know in your process of re-gaining your humanity.

I completely agree with this. I am white but I am also female. I also find my way navigating through the heterosexual construct as I am lesbian. If I was not white I would have yet one more thing to add to the list...throw in a disability for good measure and it really becomes stressful navigating all of these things. I have worked with clients with disabilities and understand their needs. Many can't just fly out of the house and start the car and go down the road on a whim. Everything needs to be thought out and planned. There are communication barriers as well. I have no idea naturally what it's like to be someone of colour but I do have an understanding of what it feels like to have a need to educate people, to not feel understood or to have what I value trampled on. I also understand what it's like when you need validation from someone but yet have to learn that your needs will not get met by others sometimes but through yourself.

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Lynn

12/20/2013 08:45:41 am

Miigwetch Angela

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Sean Leathers

11/10/2013 04:42:22 am

Thank you for sharing this information. It was very interesting and so very true. And I believe in it's up to us all Aboriginal Sovereigns to Unite and make changes for our future generations and the saving of our lands.

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Michael Smith

11/10/2013 08:54:50 am

As someone near the top of the social hierarchy, I find it a constant challenge to be a true ally. And, every time I think I've got it figured out, I discover I have a long way to go. But, with the help of God and friends in marginalised communities, I keep trying.

The Over-privileged always demand an explanation. After years and years of being interrogated about my invisible disability, I simply don't explain anymore or I put the onus on that person to educate themselves, they get a few blunt words from me, then it's their turn to expend some energy. Thanks for this article, Lynn, and all of your insights.

I hear your concerns and I agree with you. As a settler ally, I am willing to stand behind you to support your efforts or, if necessary, between the good people of the First Nations and the RCMP snipers.

Hierarchical structures have their uses but they should never be used for moral compasses.

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Lynn

12/20/2013 08:47:53 am

I agree with you Michael.

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Dan McIsaac

11/27/2013 10:51:31 pm

I am not sure where I would fall in your continuum of ally - settler - indigenous. I have blood, but it is not visible, nor has it been a defining factor in my early life. I have had (and unfortunately outlived) two native wives, not because they were native, but because they were admirable, strong women. I have been primarily a member of the white male heterosexual able-bodied privileged class, but I have become aware enough to celebrate the differences that exist in our cultural milieu, and to chafe at the limits imposed on those outside the pale.

I also recognize to some degree how my privileged position has shaped my thinking. Primarily, I recognize this because I have been taught by members of the native community, both directly through discussion, and through my own observations of how my second wife, a public servant and a status member of the Mi'kmaq Nation, was marginalized by her supervisors because of her gender and race. I have seen the toll exacted by the constant subtle roadblocks that arose within her career. I have stood with her, and since her passing have stood on my own, to support true equity (not equality) within our society. Maybe I did this in accordance with your guidelines for proper allies, and maybe not, but I have at least added my presence to back those who ask for change (as an aside, I would suggest that if you will accept only perfect allies, you will in all likelihood stand alone for all time.)

When I read this blog, one observation comes to mind: I became aware of the ridiculous inequities and stressors imposed by society by being educated by my native friends and family. Once I was aware, I was motivated to learn more on my own so I could try to understand, and maybe even help. If I had not been so educated, I would have continued to live within the deliberate societal blindness that keeps mainstream society comfortable in their inequity. It seems to me that the task of education of the masses falls to the oppressed, because the privileged simply do not see the problem until it is drawn to their attention. In a perfect world this would not be the case... but in a perfect world, inequity simply would not arise. If the privileged settlers are not educated and motivated, nothing will change, and the logical candidates to explain the situation are those who suffer from it. If settlers try to sell the message, they will mess it up, as you have pointed out in many contexts in your blogs. If I, with my blue eyes and mixed blood, try to sell the message, I am frequently harassed and marginalized by both sides of the equation. The only acceptable spokespeople seem to be the people themselves.

Perhaps it is unfair to impose that additional load on native peoples, but I can't see how anything else has a prayer of working.

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Lynn

12/20/2013 08:51:28 am

Miigwetch Dan and yes you are right it is "an additional load" that is unfair.

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dawn

12/7/2013 07:18:56 am

thankyou for speaking honestly to the Allies. I am learning to live as an Ally, and am thankful for your direction as I decolonize my own life, and subsequently learn to challenge colonial structures outside myself...for the good of our community and our Aboriginal folks.

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Victor

12/8/2013 02:11:23 pm

I agree with you about the land claims process having limitations because it shouldn't even be called the land claims process in the first place. Our ancestors lived here for millenia without anyone raising question about their tenure here except where military conflict caused shifts in territorial occupation. Here at the mouth of the Fraser my people from our earliest ancestors on down to the present day have lived on our territory literally for as long as it has existed. It was only when the Europeans arrived that anyone laid "claim" to these lands. Our endeavours to regain a measure of control over the lands & resources within our territory that enables us to restore our people to self-sufficiency are an assertion of our sovereignty; not land claims. We needn't lay claim to something that already belongs to us!